A Rey of Light for the Dark
by Racerjedi41
Summary: AU, Spoilers for TLJ. Ben has hidden behind the dark persona of Kylo Ren for years trying to belong to the dark. When he connects with Rey, he realizes that she is the belonging he seeks. Rey realizes the same thing, but is Snoke truly gone. Is a happy ending possible for Ben and Rey?
1. Chapter 1

Kylo Ren stood watching as Snoke threw Rey around the throne room and then dropped her right at his feet with the instruction to kill her. Before meeting this woman, Ren would have been able to run her through without thinking twice about it, but now… with everything they had shared from their Force bond, their hopes, fears, regrets… and something more, Ren found himself hesitating. He found that for the first time since he couldn't remember, he was actually feeling. Ben Solo was feeling.

 _Kill her, she is the enemy! She dares to defy you! She is nothing, she has no one, put her out of her misery,_ Kylo Ren thought.

 _She is something! She saw something worth saving in me. She cares about me! I have someone in this universe that understands!_ Shot back the part of his being once known as Ben Solo.

 _She makes you weak you fool! Your compassion is your weakness! She is a weakness! Destroy her!_

Just like that Ben was back on the bridge overlooking the bottomless pit on the StarKiller base. Just like that he was holding the lightsaber to his father's chest. He was trying so hard to fight but there was too much pain from the past. Han Solo had never understood his son, never been able to deal with the gifts he had been given. He had been more interested in smuggling and speeder racing than he had in being there for Ben when the whispers of darkness started to creep in. He had sent him to Luke. Luke, his uncle, his family who had contemplated murdering him as he slept. Ben hadn't been able to resist his darkness in that fateful moment on the bridge. but now…

Rey had opened up something in him. Something that made his fractured soul feel whole. He had connected with her on a level that he had never had with anyone. They truly were two halves of a whole, lost children looking for a place to belong. When he had touched her hand he had seen her past, had seen the pain of being abandoned by her parents, the horrible, lonely life she had on Jakku waiting for a family that she knew deep down would never come back for her. He had felt her desire to belong and…. he had seen what they could be together, and though he couldn't admit it until now, he wanted what he had seen.

He pulled himself back to the moment and looked at Rey. _She really is beautiful,_ he thought, and not just physically. She was a true light in the Force. Ben then heard Snoke mocking Rey, berating her for foolishly believing that the monster known as Kylo Ren could be saved.

"You think he can be saved? Foolish child! I know his every thought," Snoke snarled at Rey. She looked up at Ben helpless yet with a look of hope in her eyes. Kylo pointed the lightsaber at her saying, "I know what I have to do."

 _I am going to kill her!,_ Kylo thought.

 _No, I don't want her to die,_ Ben thought desperately.

 _Why do you care?_ Kylo sneered back, _Do you think that she truly cares about you? Do you think she feels anything more than pity for you? You murdered your own father! Killed countless others! Do you think there is any chance that she will ever love you Ben?_

 _Your right,_ Ben shot back bitterly, _I became a monster. I let my fears, doubts, and insecurities about who and what I was take over. I killed my own father! I let you and Snoke control me and you have taken everything from me. You are not taking Rey!_

 _You are a fool! She is nothing! A scavenger! A nobody! Her death means nothing!_ Kylo roared.

 _Your wrong Kylo, she's everything to me and I am done letting you control me!_ Ben thought firmly.

Ben continued to point the saber at Rey. He was about to risk everything for this girl. If it didn't work… well at least he died trying to do the right thing. As Snoke continued to speak, Ben subtly shifted Rey's lightsaber so that it was pointing towards Snoke's side. He listened as Snoke spoke the last words Ben hoped to ever hear from him.

"and now he turns on the lightsaber and kills his true enemy!" Snoke screeched.

 _You have no idea_ thought Ben Solo with satisfaction.

With a twitch of the Force, Ben activated the lightsaber. It pieced Snoke through the middle killing him. Ben twitched his fingers again and the saber flew through the air to land in Rey's outstretched hand. She rose to face him with an amazed look on her face. Ben sensed the Praetorian guards rushing in to attack the two and ignited his fiery lightsaber. He felt the Force flowing between him and Rey and it was neither Light nor Dark. There was only harmony and balance.

He and Rey stood back to back in a ring of red robed Praetorian guards. Ben brought his blade up to block the 1st guards strike and could hear Rey deflect and attack from behinds as well. The two moved as one unit to take down the first two guards. The second wave charged them. Ben threw a vicious kick to the guard attacking him, then swung his leg behind him just in time for Rey to grab his thigh and propel herself into a kick that knocked down the 4th guard. The two were soon separated by the rest of the guards rushing them at once. Ben found himself fighting harder than he ever had in his life. His sizzling lightsaber cut through guard after guard. As another guard fell with Ben's weapon buried in his chest, Ben caught a glimpse of Rey fighting a guard on the other side of the room. She moved with the precision and grace of a dancer. She blocked several strikes from the guard then would respond with a counter attack. Ben watched the deadly dance in awe when he suddenly heard Rey scream out in pain as her opponent knicked her right shoulder, drawing blood. Ben felt a surge of blinding rage as he heard her cry and moved to help her. Unfortunately, two of the remaining guards chose that moment to rush him. He blocked a deadly swing that would have cleaned his head off then countered by locking blades with the guard and using the cross guard of his lightsaber strike him in the neck, killing him. The remaining Praetorian used the moment where Ben's weapon was stuck in the other guard to attack knocking Ben away from his lightsaber. Ben dodged swipe after swipe from the guard but without a weapon he quickly found himself trapped in a head lock by the guard's blade. Ben could feel the air being forced out of his windpipe, by the steel pressing into his chest. _This could be it, I might die here,_ Ben thought. He strained his head as hard as he could until he could lock his eyes on Rey, _If I am going to die, I want her to be the last thing I see_. To his horror he saw now that Rey was also in danger of having a weapon driven into her neck. The two locked eyes for a moment that seemed like an eternity. The question hung unanswered between them. _Is this the end_?

The moment passed a Rey's face set in fierce determination as she dropped her weapon and ducked. She caught her lightsaber a moment later a cut the guard clean in two. She then turned to face Ben seeing the mortal peril she was in "BEN!" She screamed shutting off the lightsaber and tossing it to him. Ben caught the weapon and ignited it right into the guard's face. He felt the guard go limp and the pressure around his neck cease. He took a deep breath as he extricated himself from the dead guard's arms. He turned to face Snoke's throne looking at the body of his master that was now at his feet. The throne sat empty. It was his for the taking.

 _I am finally free of him,_ Ben thought, _I am free, finally, completely free. I can make my own path._

 _Yes, freedom,_ agreed Kylo, _The galaxy is yours now. You can be Supreme Leader, You can have anything you want. I made you strong. Don't' you see the dark is more powerful. It has placed you on the throne. It can give you anything you have ever wanted._

Ben didn't know what to feel in this moment. He realized that for the first time in his life he could do whatever he wanted. There were no parents to please or try to earn affection from. There was no Uncle that wanted to make him a great leader yet refused to accept Ben for the feelings and powers that he had. There was no Snoke whispering that it was his destiny to be a new Vader, to destroy the Jedi. There was just himself. Ben Solo. A lost soul that wanted more than anything to belong. Belong. That truly was all he had ever wanted. That was all Ben Solo or Kylo Ren had ever wanted. He turned at that moment to look at the girl who had given him his greatest wish. Rey. She really was the most beautiful thing Ben had ever seen. Not just physically but her light in the Force. She was everything he could never be. Kind, Forgiving, looking for the best in people even after they betrayed her, harmed her, tried to kill her. Ben Solo had embraced the dark looking to belong. How ironic that this beautiful creature of the light had connected to him so profoundly.

 _I want her,_ Ben thought, _I want her to stay with me. I want her to love me. I want her to want to love me. I want her to save me._


	2. Chapter 2

Rey looked around in amazement at the remains of Snoke's elite guards. _Did we just fight off a dozen guards?_ She thought to herself. Her and Ben had moved as one seamless unit. The dark side and the light in complete balance and harmony. There was no detachment. There was only Ben and Rey and a fight for their lives. Part of her had been terrified, yet another part of her had relished in the fight. She had never had such a clear moment of purpose in her life. The only thing that had mattered was making sure that her and Ben escaped. She could hardly believe it when Ben had killed his master. Her heart had sung with joy. _I knew there was still good buried underneath the mask of Kylo Ren_ , she smiled at the thought. _I was right._ As she looked at the view screen next to Snoke's throne she saw that the Resistance fleet was still under assault by the _Supremacy_. The mammoth Star Destroyer was picking off the small transports like fish in a barrel. _We must stop this_.

"The Resistance Fleet is still under attack! We have to stop this," She said imploringly to Ben. She looked hopefully at him as he stood looking between the throne and her. A sense of unease filled her. _Am I looking at Ben Solo, or Kylo Ren?_

Ben looked between her and the throne a moment ago he had been so certain that all he wanted was to be with beautiful scavenger from Jakku, but as had always happened in the past, the seductive call of power was whispering in his ear.

 _Take the throne. It's your birthright. This is what you were meant to be. Greater than Vader. The Supreme Leader of the New Order. The man who will bring this chaotic galaxy to heel,_

Ben found himself listening to the voice. It spoke true. He had given up everything for this. He had taken his own father's life for this. If he did not ascent the throne in this moment, every life he had taken, every horrible act he had committed would be for nothing. He could not stop now. Even if he did what was waiting for him if he turned from this path? At best he would spend the rest of his life in a prison cell, more likely he would be executed. He had acknowledged himself that he was a monster. There was no going back to his old life.

As if sensing his thoughts, Rey called out to him timidly, "Ben?'

Ben looked again at the throne and thought, _Why shouldn't I rule? Why can't we rule together?"_

He turned to face Rey. "It's time to let old things die. Snoke, Skywalker, The Jedi, The Sith, The Resistance. Let it all die! Rey I want you to join me." He extended his hand to her.

Rey felt warm tears come to her eyes, _He was so close. Ben Solo was so close to being free!_ "Please don't go this way, Ben"

Ben felt a flash of anger, "NO! NO! You are still holding on! LET GO!" His voice softened, "Do you want to know the truth about your parents? Or have you always known? You've just hidden it away? You know the truth. Say it."

Rey was openly weeping now. _I have always known I just couldn't accept it_. "They were nobody"

Ben nodded, "They were filthy junk dealers who sold you off for drinking money. They threw you away like you were nothing. They abandoned you just like my family abandoned me. Our families left us alone!" tears were now in his eyes as well. "I have never belonged, until I met you. Rey. I want you to rule by my side. My equal."

Rey looked at Ben again, "I have always been alone. I have always had this emptiness inside me that I couldn't understand. I didn't feel that way when we touched hands. I felt like I had finally filled a gap in my heart, but it was with Ben Solo not Kylo Ren!"

Ben looked at her pleadingly, "Rey, there is nothing for me with the Resistance. My mother, my Uncle they will never forgive me for what I have done." He lowered his eyes and said in a voice that she could barely hear, "I don't know how you could either."

Rey could feel the conflict inside the man in front of her. For a brief moment she wondered what in the stars she was doing. This man had killed his own father! He had killed countless people, had interrogated her and tried to kill her. No, she thought again. It was not Ben Solo who did those horrible things it was the monster he had created to try and find his place in the galaxy. She had sensed who Ben was before his uncle betrayed him when they had touched hands in the hut on Ach-To. She knew that Ben had been a boy who was passionate about living up to his family name and wanted nothing more than to be accepted as he was. He had craved love from a family that was never there. He had tried to find belonging with his Uncle. With the Jedi. Once Snoke had started to whisper in his ear, students feared him. Ben was left alone struggling with dark voices in his head that he couldn't understand to afraid to ask for help. That fateful night when he had awoken to Luke standing over him with an ignited lightsaber had been that last straw for him. He had snapped, destroyed the temple and left to find Snoke. He had vowed to destroy Ben Solo and become so strong that no one could hurt him again. Kylo Ren was the monster. Ben Solo was the lost soul just like Rey. When they had connected Rey had seen their future and it was beautiful. Ben would kill the monster and join her. She knew this in her heart.

Rey took a step toward Ben, "I can forgive you because I have seen who you truly are. I have seen what you can be. I know you Ben Solo. You are not destined for darkness. Those are the lies of Snoke!'

Ben looked hard at her and said, "I am a monster."

Rey stepped closer to him, "No you're not. You don't have to be!"

Ben started looking uncomfortable, "Ben Solo is dead. I can't come back with you."

Rey stepped closer again, "Maybe not yet, but I see who you really are even if you can't"

The two locked eyes. Ben found himself drawing closer to Rey. She was close enough to see the freckles on her face. Close enough to kiss. He knew it was a bad idea… but he was beyond caring. The two leaned in….

Suddenly they were both blasted off their feet as the Resistance battle cruiser rammed through the _Supremacy_. Ben fell to the deck with Rey landing right next to him. Flames burst up around the throne room and warning bells wailed throughout the ship. Ben staggered to his feet then reached down to pull Rey up as well. "Are you okay," Ben asked Rey in a voice filled with concern.

"Yeah," Rey responded. "It sounds like the ship is coming apart we need to get out of here."

The sound of a blaster being activated, and the cold metal of a blaster barrel suddenly assaulted her senses. "Oh I think not," snarled General Hux.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben didn't hesitate he reached out with the Force and hurled Hux against the wall as close as he could. Hux bounced off the wall and slumped to the deck out cold. Rey sighed with relief as she felt the blaster leave her skin. She started to run towards the door but stopped when she realized that Ben was not beside her. She turned back around to see him standing next to General Hux with a conflicted look on his face. Rey walked back to him and asked, "Your not thinking about executing him in cold blood are you?"

Ben sighed, "I won't insult you by pretending the idea didn't appeal to me, but even if I want to kill him, I can't."

Rey's brown creased in confusion, "What do you mean you can't?

Ben looked at her, "Rey I just killed the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Do you have any idea of the kind of power vacuum that will leave?"

Rey retorted, "All the more reason for us to get off this ship!"

Ben's eyes lit up, "No you don't understand. A new Supreme Leader will be driven to seek vengeance against the person responsible for killing Snoke. They will hunt them and their followers down and destroy them. Hux saw you close to Snoke. He probably already thinks that you murdered him. If he tells anyone about his suspicions…. Rey…. You have no idea what he will do. He won't just destroy the Resistance. He will make it suffer! He has done things that even Snoke abhorred. He can't be allowed to rule!

Rey was starting to have a decidedly _Bad feeling_ about this. She said softly, "Ben what are you trying to say?"

Ben took a deep breath then let it out with a shudder, "Rey I have to become Supreme Leader."

"No, you said you wanted to leave it all behind! All of it! Let the past die! Those were your words Ben!" Rey shouted tears forming in her eyes.

Ben looked at her sadly, "Rey you know as well as I do that I can't return to the Resistance, and the only person that could take Snoke's place other than Hux is me. I may be a monster, but Hux… is worse.

Rey was angry now. "You think that trading one monster for the another is the answer?!"

Ben's voice rose, "I CAN'T GO BACK THERE REY! You don't know what it was like. From the moment I was born my family predicted greatness from me. I was part of one of the most powerful families in the galaxy and I tried to live up to it! I did everything they ever asked of me! They never once asked me if I wanted to be a Jedi. They never asked me if I wanted to be a leader. It was expected of me! Yet the moment I started to show signs of power, everyone abandoned me. Once I started hearing Snoke in my head…. I felt so alone. It was like there was a darkness inside me that I couldn't control, and Luke… My Uncle, he was more concerned with me becoming a Jedi than the darkness I was feeling inside. He TRIED To KILL ME! After that all I had was the monster. All I am is the monster.

Rey walked up to him until she was right in front of him, "Not to me, Ben."

Ben took off his gloves and threw them to the deck. He gently reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Rey's ear. He looked deep into her eyes then able to resist no longer, he lowered his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. At first he felt terrified, afraid that Rey would reject him, but to his surprise Rey immediately began kissing her back. As their lips moved together. Ben felt the Force flowing between them. It was warm, peaceful, and filled every part of his being with joy. He could see the horrible things he had done as Kylo Ren and once again he wondered how this beautiful girl could stand to be near him yet alone kiss him!

Rey could feel the same energy flowing through her. It was beyond amazing. All her life she had looked for family, for connection. The man kissing her made her feel complete for the first time in her life. The two broke apart and they rested their foreheads against each other. Rey looked up and said, "You felt it too?"

Ben nodded, "Yes I.. I have never felt anything like it. Rey… I want to come with you. I swear."

Rey smiled, "Then come home."

Ben shook his head, "You may except me, but the rest of the galaxy never will, and if I go with you. Hux will reign terror down you and your friends. I have to stay. Not for power. Not because I want to be Kylo Ren, but because it's the only way to save you. He leaned down and kissed her again. This time it felt like he was pouring everything he had into a single kiss. In Rey's mind she could see glimpses of them in the future. The two stood side by side both holding glowing blue blades against opponents she could not see. The scene changed and she could see Ben and her on some planet filled with trees and rivers and lakes. The two were curled up together on the lakefront. She could feel the contentment. the love?

Ben broke away again and said, "It's not just Hux Rey. I can sense it in the Force. I need to stay here. I don't understand why, but I see only darkness if I leave with you. I can see a future for us..but only if I stay here.

Rey smiled sadly, "I felt it too. Our future.. I don't want to lose it."

Ben smiled for the first time in ages. A real smile, "Then do what a true Jedi does.. Trust the Force."

Rey nodded sadly and the two shared one last kiss. Then Rey raced to the elevator. As she disappeared from view. Ben turned to face Hux. _Well this should be interesting._ He thought to himself.


End file.
